Fact Sheet
U.S.-EU Cooperation in Northern Europe at the December 1999 Summit in Washington, the United States and The European Union Committed Themselves to Work Closely Together in the Baltic States and Northwest Russia to Address Concrete Problems and to Promote

increased regional cooperation in this increasingly vital part of
Europe. Since then, we have identified and begun to implement a number
of cooperative activities within the framework of the U.S. Northern
Europe Initiative (NEI) and the EU's Northern Dimension strategy. The
two sides have identified four priority areas: environment,
health (HIV/AIDS and TB), law enforcement and anti-corruption, and
civil society development. They are working together
concretely on the environment and in civil society development and hope
to identify additional specific programs in the other two priority
areas over the next year. The following is a summary of
their efforts to work together in environment and civil society
development.

Environment ? Watershed Management: Watershed-based
management is a central theme of the EU's water directive and is an
approach pioneered in the North American Great Lakes
region. The U.S. and EU will continue to work cooperatively
on development and implementation strategies in selected watersheds
within the Baltic States as well as shared watersheds between the
Baltic States and Russia (especially Kaliningrad and Northwest
Russia). Key to the U.S. program will be the use of citizen
groups and NGOs to carry out water quality monitoring and data
collection. The U.S. and EU will closely coordinate their
efforts through annual planning meetings. ? Invasive
Species: Over the next year, experts from the U.S. and
Commission will identify potential invasive species and their pathways
into EU and U.S. waters, focusing on the Baltic Sea and the North
American Great Lakes region (which share geographical
characteristics). The two sides will present the results of
these consultations, including an assessment of potential impact and
proposed methods of control and eradication, at an April 2002
conference on invasive species in The Hague. ? Mercury Clearinghouse:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is currently
developing a prototype "clearinghouse" on mercury which provides a
comprehensive framework for managing information regarding mercury
regulation, research, reduction tracking, and risk
management. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) has also
been developing databases and other resources to provide information on
a range of toxic substances. Beginning in October 2001, the two sides
will explore the feasibility of sharing information through linked
databases. ? Toxic Waste in Russia: The U.S. and EU will
support, with financial assistance and technical expertise,
restructuring of the toxic waste processing facility at Krasny Bor,
Russia. Civil Society Both the U.S. and EU devote significant
resources to promoting the development of vigorous and open civil
societies in the Baltic States and Russia. U.S. and EU
missions in the region work closely on the ground to make these efforts
more effective. Highlights include: ? Social Integration in
Latvia: The U.S. and EU will fund a significant portion of
Latvia's language training program for Russian
speakers. This program is an important part of Latvia's
effort to integrate Russian-speaking non-citizens into society. ?
Trade Union Education in Russia: The U.S. and EU are funding
complementary trade union education projects in northwest Russia as
part of broader trade union efforts in the country. ? Journalist
Training/Press Freedom in Russia: Both sides will continue
programs to train Russian journalists in professional reporting
standards and ethics. # # #